Door lock mechanism for household appliance

Abstract

The invention relates to a door lock mechanism 100 for a household appliance, in particular a dishwasher, having a guide element 200, which can be engaged from the rear by at least one pivotable, resiliently mounted lever arm 110, 110 ', for locking a door of the household appliance. The door lock mechanism is characterized by a displaceably mounted locking element 300 capable of blocking or releasing at least one lever arm 110, 100 'in a pivot position depending on its displacement position.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a door locking mechanism for a household appliance, in particular for a dishwasher, according to the generic term of claim 1, with a guide element that can be engaged from behind by at least one pivotable, elastically mounted lever arm for locking a door of a household appliance. The invention also relates to a method for locking and unlocking a door of a household appliance using such a door locking mechanism according to claim 13, and to a preferred use of a door locking mechanism for a dishwasher according to claim 15. Background Art

[0002] The door locking mechanism of household appliances is usually arranged on the container such as a dishwasher. For such a door locking mechanism, a closing force must first be applied until a turning point is reached. From this turning point, the door locking mechanism pulls the door into the closed state.

[0003] US patent specification US 9,1 01,259 B2 discloses a door locking mechanism comprising a lever arm for securely locking a door of a dishwasher, the lever arm being pushed open by a deflection surface and closing again behind it.

[0004] German patent application DE 10 2021 104 747 A1 discloses a mechanism for a door of a domestic appliance, which can be opened automatically by a handle which is separated from a lock-opening mechanism and is decoupled from the lock-opening mechanism in terms of movement.

[0005] However, the door locking mechanisms known from the prior art do not allow the door of the household appliance to be closed effortlessly while still being able to lock the door safely and reliably. Summary of the invention

[0006] One object of the present invention is to simplify the handling of a door of a domestic appliance, in particular to reduce the closing force to be applied, without weakening the pulling force for closing the door at the turning point of the applied force.

[0007] This problem is solved by a door lock mechanism according to the characterizing part of claim 1, which has a lock element mounted displaceably, which can block or release at least one lever arm at a pivot position according to its moving position, so that: at a first moving position of the guide element, at least one lever arm contacts a rising guide portion of the guide element that rises in the direction opposite to the closing movement of the guide element, closer to its upper end than to its lower end; and at a second moving position of the guide element, at least one lever arm contacts the guide element, even closer to the upper end of its rising guide portion, forming a gap between at least one lever arm and the lock element; and at a third moving position of the guide element, at least one lever arm contacts a descending guide portion of the guide element that descends in the direction opposite to the closing movement of the guide element, wherein the lock element can be displaced by the guide element at the second moving position and / or the third moving position.

[0008] The key point of the door lock mechanism according to the present invention is that at least one lever arm contacts the guide element only shortly before the turning point of the closing force to be applied. Therefore, the user no longer needs to apply force to the guide element to resist the elasticity of the lever arm along the entire rising guide. This is because the lever arm is set back and blocked by the locking element against its spring, so that it contacts the guide element only near the upper end of the rising guide (i.e. shortly before the turning point of the closing force to be applied). However, at this time, only a small force is enough to overcome the turning point and trigger the automatic rear engagement of the guide element, in which the lever arm slides down along the descending guide under the drive of its suspension and pulls it toward the descending guide and clamps it, thereby locking the door lock mechanism. During the last movement of the lever arm, the locking element is displaced with the help of the guide element, thereby eliminating the obstruction to the lever arm. However, if the blocking surface must first be completely overcome by the third displacement position, this unlocking can also be started at the second displacement position of the guide element. Due to the small actuation force of the user, this door lock mechanism is also called "soft closing". The dependent claims include preferred embodiments of the door lock mechanism according to the present invention.

[0009] According to an advantageous embodiment of the door locking mechanism according to the invention, a release of the at least one lever arm is provided when the guide element is moved from the second displacement position to the third displacement position, and a blocking of the at least one lever arm is provided when the guide element is moved from the second displacement position to the first displacement position. On the one hand, this ensures an unblocked engagement behind the guide element when the door locking mechanism is closed. On the other hand, a "force-reduced" opening of the door locking mechanism corresponding to the closing is possible, since the lever arm is blocked again and positioned frictionlessly along the rising guide. This supports a force-reduced closing and opening of the door locking mechanism.

[0010] At least one lever arm preferably has a stopper which is approximately centered in the longitudinal direction of the lever arm and protrudes in the direction of the locking element for abutting against the locking element. When the locking element is displaced, at least one lever arm retreats against the locking element by the protruding height of the stopper and is blocked in the retreated position, making it particularly easy to adjust the lever arm to the rising guide. Preferably, the stopper is provided with an introduction chamfer for the locking element, along which the locking element can slide and block at least one lever arm in the pivot position. However, as an alternative or in addition, the locking element may also be provided with such an introduction chamfer in order to achieve this function. In any case, a simple kinematic connection between the locking element and the lever arm can be achieved.

[0011] Particular advantages arise when the locking element is spring-mounted against the guide element. This is because the locking element can be coupled to the guide element and to the lever arm in a simple and reliable manner. Preferably, the elastic force of at least one lever arm is selected to be greater than the elastic force of the locking element. This supports force-reduced closing and opening of the door mechanism without reducing its closing force. The closing force of the lever arm can be achieved by a compression spring and / or a tension spring.

[0012] The movement coupling of the locking element is preferably achieved by a magnetic connection with the guide element, wherein the locking element is provided with or without elasticity. Such coupling is easy to achieve and allows the locking element to be coupled and moved to block and release the lever arm according to the movement of the guide element.

[0013] In another embodiment of the door lock mechanism according to the invention, it is arranged that the inclination angle of the rising guide is smaller than the inclination angle of the descending guide. In this context, the inclination angle of the rising guide should be understood as the angle between the rising guide and the longitudinal axis of the guide element. The inclination angle of the descending guide should be understood as the angle between the descending guide and the longitudinal axis of the guide element. If the inclination angle of the rising guide is smaller than the inclination angle of the descending guide, the force required to close the door lock mechanism is reduced, while the pulling force required to lock the door lock mechanism is increased. This is because the user only needs to apply a small amount of force to push the guide element against the lever arm resting on the flat rising guide until the turning point of the applied force; and from the turning point, the sharply descending guide allows a particularly high locking force and pulling force of the lever arm. Ideally, the angle between the rising guide and the descending guide is between 90° and 130°.

[0014] In a particularly preferred embodiment of the door locking mechanism according to the invention, two lever arms are provided which are pivotable about respective pivot axes extending parallel to one another, thereby enabling a particularly powerful and therefore more secure and reliable locking of the door locking mechanism. This is because in this case, for example, the guide element is clamped from two opposite sides, although it is possible to provide only a single locking element arranged between the two lever arms.

[0015] For the mobile coupling of the guide element to the locking element, the guide element preferably has a protrusion, in particular a plunger. The length of the plunger can be used to set the mobile coupling, for example, when the turning point of the force application is exceeded, that is, when the lever arm contacts the descending guide of the guide element and the locking process occurs, the plunger contacts the locking element and moves with the guide element to eliminate the obstruction of the lever arm. This allows the lever arm to slide down along the descending guide and engage behind the guide element and lock it. However, the length of the plunger can also be selected so that the mobile coupling of the guide element to the locking element already occurs in the second movement position of the guide element, for example if unlocking the lever arm into the third movement position of the guide element requires a pre-travel distance of the locking element in order to completely overcome the locking surface.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment of the door lock mechanism according to the invention, the guide element can have a polygonal cross section, in particular a triangular or quadrilateral cross section, in the latter case preferably a rhombus cross section, or a circular or semicircular cross section. In particular, according to the invention, the rhombus cross section allows different selections of inclination angles in order to design the desired setting of the locking force behind the turning point of the force application of the lever arm on the flat rising guide and on the steep descending guide.

[0017] The problem is also solved by a method according to claim 13. The gist of the method according to the invention is that, compared to the prior art, no additional program steps or operating elements (e.g. additional buttons) are required for the "soft closing" operation of the door of a household appliance, and the user benefits from a conventional but less force-requiring operation of an appliance with the same locking properties. The dependent claims contain preferred embodiments of the door locking mechanism according to the invention.

[0018] In order to achieve a less force-intensive and simultaneously safe opening and closing of a door of a household appliance, it is advantageous if, by moving the locking element, at least one lever arm is released when the door locking mechanism is closed and blocked when the door locking mechanism is open.

[0019] Due to its space-saving and simple realization, the door locking mechanism according to the invention is intended to be particularly suitable for doors of frequently used household appliances, in particular dishwashers. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Further advantages, objects and features of the present invention are explained with reference to the following description of the accompanying drawings. In various embodiments, similar components may have the same reference numerals. The accompanying drawings show:

[0021] Figure 1a is a functional diagram of a door lock mechanism according to the invention, wherein a guide element is about to be inserted between two lever arms;

[0022] Figure 1b yes Figure 1a A functional diagram in which the guide element is in a first movement position;

[0023] Figure 1c yes Figure 1a A functional diagram in which the guide element is in a second movement position;

[0024] Figure 1d yes Figure 1a A functional diagram of wherein the guide element is at a turning point of force application;

[0025] Figure 1e yes Figure 1a , wherein the guide element is in a third displacement position, and

[0026] Figure 2 is a diagram explaining the force required to close the door lock mechanism according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] Figure 1a A functional diagram of a door locking mechanism 100 according to the invention is shown, wherein a guide element 200 is about to be inserted between two lever arms 110, 110'. The guide element 200 shown is, for example, a guide element of a door of a dishwasher, which is about to be closed against its housing. The door locking mechanism 100 is mounted on the container of the dishwasher, i.e. not in the container.

[0028] Here, the guide element 200 has a rhombus cross-sectional shape, whose respective rising guide 210, 210' extends from a lower end 230, 230' to an upper end 220, 220' in the opposite direction with respect to the closing movement direction D (direction), while it represents a transition to a descending guide 240, 240' in the direction opposite to the closing movement direction D. The rising guide 210, 210' transitions in the closing movement direction to an elongated plunger 250, which is able to establish a mobile coupling between the guide element 200 and the locking element 300.

[0029] The two lever arms 110, 110' are spring-mounted on respective pivot axes X1, X1' offset parallel to one another and have approximately centrally located stops 120, 120' which abut against the locking element 300. The locking element 300 is spring-mounted displaceably in its longitudinal direction against the lead-in chamfers 130, 130'. By means of the respective lead-in chamfers 130, 130', the locking element can reset the lever arms 110, 110' during its movement from right to left and lock them against a closing pinch movement. Before the guide element 200 is inserted when the door is closed, the lever arms 110, 110' both abut against the locking element 300, but are subject to spring compression and / or spring tension towards one another.

[0030] In principle, although the door lock mechanism 100 shown is constructed as a mirror image along the horizontal longitudinal axis, this does not necessarily have to be the case. In particular, the door lock mechanism according to the invention can also consist of only a single lever arm 110 and, for example, a triangular guide element. Of course, it is also conceivable to use a spherical or hemispherical guide element instead of a rectangular guide element. It should be important to first reset and lock the lever arm to close the door lock mechanism, then unlock it again to lock the door lock mechanism, and proceed in reverse order to open the door lock mechanism.

[0031] Figure 1b Shows Figure 1a , in which the guide element 200 is in a first movement position P1 (position 1), in which the lever arms 110, 110' contact the rising guides 210, 210' near their upper ends 220, 220'. Thus, the locking element 300 ensures that the lever arms 110, 110' are retracted far enough that no force is required to move them along the long distance of the rising guides 210, 210'. In this position, the locking element 300 is still not affected by the plunger 250.

[0032] In order to reduce the force required by the user to move the guide element 200 during the further course of the closing process, the inclination angle A1 (angle 1) of the rising guide 210, 210' can be selected to be significantly smaller than the inclination angle A2 (angle 2) of the descending guide 240, 240'. However, there is a limit, namely that the overall length of the door lock mechanism 100 will eventually encounter the size limitations of the dishwasher. The angle A3 (angle 3) between the rising guide 210, 210' and the descending guide 240, 240' is obtained by subtracting the angles A1 and A2 from the sum of all the angles in the triangle (180°); ideally, this angle is between 90° and 120° in order to ensure that the guide 200 can be reliably slid downward and pulled upward by the lever arm 110, 110'.

[0033] Figure 1c Shows Figure 1a , in which the guide element 200 is in a second movement position P2 (position 2), in which the guide element 200 has been further pushed in the closing movement direction D by the force applied by the user, so that the lever arms 110, 110' on the rising guides 210, 210' are further pushed toward their upper ends 220, 220'. In this movement position P2, corresponding gaps G, G' are generated between the stops 120, 120' and the locking element 300, thereby releasing their longitudinal displacement capacity. In this movement position P2, the plunger 250 of the guide element 200 provides the locking element 300 with a movement connection between the guide element 200 and the locking element 300.

[0034] Figure 1d Shows Figure 1a , wherein the guide element 200 is at the turning point of force application, which is located at the upper end 220, 220' of the rising guide 210, 210'. Therefore, in order to close the door, the user only needs to act against the force of the lever arm 110, 110' between the displacement position P1 and the turning point 220, 220' of force application (soft closing). At the turning point 220, 220' of force application, the locking element 300 has already moved back to the left by part of the width of the stop 120, 120' until just before the introduction of the chamfer 130, 130'.

[0035] Figure 1e Shows Figure 1a, in which the guide element 200 is in the third displacement position P3 (position 3), in which the guide element 200 is finally fully engaged by the lever arms 110, 110' from behind and the door locking mechanism has been locked. For this purpose, the locking element 300 has been moved to the left by the plunger 250 to such an extent that the stop 120, 120' is free and the clamping movement of the lever arms 110, 110' is no longer blocked, so that these lever arms slide downward along the descending guides 24, 240' and pull the guide element 200 towards them (locked position). The user no longer needs to apply any force for this process, because it is done by the spring action of the lever arms 110, 110' themselves.

[0036] Figure 2 A diagram illustrating the forces required to close the door lock mechanism 100 according to the present invention is shown. The ordinate represents the positive or negative force F (force) required to operate the door lock mechanism 100, while the abscissa represents the associated movement position of the guide part 200 (closing movement direction D to the left). Therefore, if the guide part 200 moves from the movement position P1 to the upper end 240, 240' of the rising guide part 210, 210', the user must apply a closing work / opening work (force×distance) corresponding to the area CW (closing work). On the other hand, the movement of the guide part 200 from this point to the locking position P3 no longer requires any force from the user, but is applied by the suspension of the lever arms 110, 100' themselves, which allows the lever arms 110, 110' to be clamped behind the guide part 200 and pull the guide part 200 between the lever arms 110, 110'. The locking / unlocking work applied for this purpose is indicated by the area PW (pulling work).

[0037] Comparison of surfaces CW and PW shows that the user needs to exert much less force to close the dishwasher door (soft closing). At the same time, by using spring-loaded lever arms 110, 110', a safe and reliable locking of the door is ensured. The elasticity of the locking element 300 can be selected in such a way that it only ensures that it is reset to block the lever arms 110, 110' and has no further influence on their closing force, which could jeopardize the safe closed position behind the guide 200.

[0038] By blocking the lever arm from moving in the open position and releasing the entire lever travel for the locking process, a relatively low closing force can be achieved, which must be applied by the user himself without any influence on the pulling force and pulling travel.

[0039] In principle, the locking element 300 does not necessarily have to be spring-mounted. The locking element 300 can also be reset against the stop 120, 120' by a movable coupling with a guide device, wherein the guide device clamps the locking element 300 in a detachable manner (for example by a hook or a magnet) in the opening movement direction and pulls it back to the left into the locked position.

[0040] Overall, this provides a door lock mechanism 100 that is simple in design, safe in operation, and reliable in closing, providing the user with a "soft close" function without any other restrictions.

[0041] Reference numerals list

[0042] 100 Door lock mechanism

[0043] 110, 110' lever arm

[0044] 120, 120' protruding stop

[0045] 130, 130' lead-in chamfer

[0046] 200 Guide element

[0047] 210, 210' rising guide

[0048] 220, 220' upper end of the rising guide portion (force application turning point)

[0049] 230, 230' lower end of the ascending guide

[0050] 240, 240' descending guide

[0051] 250 Plunger

[0052] 300 Locking element

[0053] A1 Angle of the rising guide relative to its moving direction

[0054] A2 Angle between the descending guide and its moving direction

[0055] A3 Angle between the rising guide and the descending guide

[0056] B Close moving direction

[0057] CW Turn off / on function

[0058] F Actuation force

[0059] G, G' Clearance between locking element and lever arm

[0060] P1 First moving position

[0061] P2 Second moving position

[0062] P3 Third moving position

[0063] PW lock / unlock function

[0064] X1, X1' Pivot axis of the lever arm.

Claims

1. A door locking mechanism (100) for a household appliance, in particular a dishwasher, comprising a guide element (200) which can be engaged from behind by at least one pivotable, elastically mounted lever arm (110, 110') for locking the door of the household appliance, characterized in that A displaceably mounted locking element (300) which can block or release the at least one lever arm (110, 100') at a pivot position depending on its displacement position, thereby - in a first movement position (P1) of the guide element (200), the at least one lever arm (110, 110') contacts a rising guide portion (210, 210') of the guide element (200) rising against the closing movement direction (D) of the guide element (200), closer to its upper end (220, 220') than to its lower end (230, 230'), and - in a second displacement position (P2) of the guide element (200), the at least one lever arm (110, 110') contacts the guide element (200), even closer to the upper end of its rising guide portion (210, 210'), forming a gap (G, G') between the at least one lever arm (110, 110') and the locking element (300), and - in a third displacement position (P3) of the guide element (200), the at least one lever arm (110, 110') contacts a descending guide (240, 240') of the guide element (200), the descending guide descending in the direction (D) of the closing displacement of the guide element (200), wherein The locking element (300) can be displaced by the guide element (200) in the second displacement position and / or the third displacement position.

2. The door lock mechanism (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the guide element (200) moves from the second moving position (P2) to the third moving position (P3), the at least one lever arm (110, 110') is released; and when the guide element (200) moves from the second moving position (P2) to the first moving position (P1), the at least one lever arm (110, 110') is blocked.

3. The door lock mechanism (100) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The at least one lever arm (110, 110') has a stopper (120, 120') which is located approximately in the center in the longitudinal direction of the lever arm (110, 110') and protrudes in the direction of the locking element (300) for abutting against the locking element (300).

4. The door lock mechanism (100) according to claim 3, characterized in that: The stop (120, 120') is provided with an introduction chamfer (130, 130') for the locking element (300), along which the locking element (300) can slide and block the at least one lever arm (110, 110') in a pivot position.

5. The door lock mechanism (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that: The locking element (300) is resiliently mounted against the guiding element (200).

6. The door lock mechanism (100) according to claim 5, characterized in that: The elastic force of the at least one lever arm (110, 110') is selected to be greater than the elastic force of the locking element (300).

7. The door lock mechanism (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The locking element (300) can be coupled to the guiding element (200) by a magnetic connection.

8. The door lock mechanism (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The inclination angle (A1) of the ascending guide portion (210, 210') is smaller than the inclination angle (A2) of the descending guide portion (240, 240').

9. The door lock mechanism (100) according to claim 8, characterized in that: The included angle (A3) between the ascending guide portion (210, 210') and the descending guide portion (24, 24') is between 90° and 130°.

10. The door lock mechanism (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that Two lever arms (110, 110') are provided which are pivotable about respective pivot axes (X1, X1') extending parallel to one another.

11. The door lock mechanism (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The guide element (200) has a protrusion, in particular a plunger (250), for movement coupling with the locking element (300).

12. The door lock mechanism (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The guide element (200) has a polygonal cross section, in particular a triangular or quadrilateral cross section, in the latter case preferably a rhombus cross section, or a circular or semicircular cross section.

13. A method for locking and unlocking a door of a household appliance, the household appliance having a door lock mechanism (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one lever arm (110, 110') which is mounted so as to be pivotable and resilient is blocked on a displaceably mounted locking element (300) so that during a movement of a guide element (200) towards the at least one lever arm (110, 110'), the at least one lever arm (110, 110') contacts a rising guide (210, 210') closer to its upper end (220, 220') than to its lower end (230, 230'), the rising guide being opposite to the closing movement direction ( D) rises, and when the guiding element (200) moves further toward the at least one lever arm (110, 110'), the gap (G, G') between the at least one lever arm (110, 110') and the locking element (300) opens, and during further movement of the guiding element (200), the at least one lever arm (110, 110') contacts a descending guide portion (240, 240') of the guiding element (200), the descending guide portion is adjacent to the ascending guide portion (210, 210') and descends against the closing movement direction (D) of the guiding element (200), and the locking element (300) is displaced by the guiding element (200).

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that By displacing the locking element (300), the at least one lever arm (110, 110') is released when the door lock mechanism (100) is closed, and the at least one lever arm (110, 110') is blocked when the door lock mechanism (100) is opened.

15. Use of the door lock mechanism (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 12 for a door of a dishwasher.

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